1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window type air conditioner, and more particularly to an air blowing apparatus of an air conditioner for preventing blown air from flowing backward by improving a gap between an outdoor fan and a condenser.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In general, a conventional window type air conditioner includes a vaporizing unit installed at the front portion of a base panel for heat-exchanging the infused room air to cool air, a blade frame mounted at one lateral upper end of the vaporizing unit for partitioning and discharging the cool air heat-exchanged by passing through the vaporizing unit and a control box assembled at the lower portion of the blade frame for controlling operations of the product and accommodating electronic parts.
Here, the vaporizing unit and blade frame are coupled with an internal case secured at the top surface. The control box is coupled with a lateral surface and a lower surface of the blade frame. A plurality of vertical blades are installed inside the blade frame for horizontally controlling air flow which has been heat-exchanged and discharged through all area of the blade frame.
An external panel is mounted on the base panel for forming an external appearance of the product by covering all of its sides except its front side, wherein a plurality of infusing holes are formed on both sides of the external panel for getting the outside air to be infused into the product. A front panel covers the front portion of the external panel for forming its front appearance of the product with inflow and outflow of room air.
Here, the front panel includes a suction inlet at an area corresponding to the vaporizing unit for allowing a suction grill member to be attached or detached and a discharging outlet at an area corresponding to the blade frame for discharging the beat-exchanged air out of the product and a rectangular space at an area corresponding to the control box.
Furthermore, the suction grill member of a window shape is inserted at the suction inlet, allowing attachment and detachment thereof. On the other hand, a plurality of horizontal blades are vertically installed in a predetermined interval for controlling vertical flow of the room air discharging out through all area of the discharging outlet, allowing their vertical movements.
In addition, a compressor is installed at one middle portion of the base panel for compressing circulating coolant to the coolant of high temperature and high pressure to be supplied into the vaporizing unit. An external case is installed at rear portion of the base panel for supporting a condenser. A plurality of brackets are coupled at the upper inner surface of the external panel for keeping constant a predetermined horizontal interval set between the external case and the internal case.
Furthermore, a partition is installed behind the internal case for covering the rear side of the vaporizing unit, blade frame and control box. Air blowing means is installed between the partition and the external case for forcibly infusing and circulating room air and outside air to an internal space and an external space divided by the partition, and for discharging the air.
The air blowing means includes a motor to be driven by supply power, an indoor fan, which may be a centrifugal fan, installed at the internal space via the motor and a motor axis for rotating along with the driven motor to forcibly induce the room air to the suction grill member, the suction inlet of the front panel and the vaporizing unit in sequence and an outdoor fan which may be of a propeller shape, installed at the external space via the other motor axis of the motor for rotating along with the motor to forcibly infuse outside air to the external space through the infusing hole of the external panel and discharge out through the condenser at the same time.
The outdoor fan includes a hub coupled at an end of the motor axis to avoid racing, and a plurality of vanes distributed evenly around an external periphery surface of the hub and assembled at a predetermined gap to bell-mouth shaped through hole of the external case for generating air.
However, in the air blowing apparatus of the conventional air conditioner thus constructed, the distance between the center of the hub of the outdoor fan and the condenser is larger than the distance between the end of the vane of the outdoor fan and the condenser, which can lead to a so-called whirling phenomenon, or vortex, in which air can be infused toward the hub at the center of the condenser faced with the hub when the outdoor fan is rotated.
Such a whirling phenomenon will not occur if the outdoor fan is installed far enough from the condenser. However, as recent models of air conditioners are made smaller, the outdoor fan is more closely installed to the condenser. As a result, normal air flow in the positive (+) state of air velocity may form at the region between the end of the vane and that of the condenser. On the other hand, a backward air flow in the negative (xe2x88x92) state of air velocity may form at the region between the center of the hub and the condenser. Therefore, condensation is not smoothly accomplished at the center of the condenser.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved air conditioner.
A further object of the present invention is to improve the air blowing apparatus of an air conditioner.
A yet further object of the invention is to provide an air blowing apparatus of an air conditioner which eliminates a vortex near the hub of the outdoor fan.
A still further object of the invention is to achieve better condensation in the condenser near the hub of the outdoor fan.
Another object of the invention is to provide an air conditioner which can be made smaller.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an air conditioner which has greater cooling capacity.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an air conditioner which has reduced energy consumption and greater energy efficiency.
The present invention is presented to achieve the above objects, by providing an air blowing apparatus of an air conditioner for reducing variations in the distance between a hub of an outdoor fan and a condenser and that between the vane of the outdoor fan and the condenser to thereby eliminate a whirling phenomenon, in which air is infused toward the center of the hub in rotation of the outdoor fan, and to accomplish smooth condensation at the center of the condenser facing the hub.
In order to accomplish the aforementioned objects of the present invention, there is provided an air blowing apparatus of an air conditioner having an outdoor fan which includes a hub and vanes faced with a condenser at a predetermined distance, wherein the outdoor fan is assembled at a distance between the hub and the condenser no larger than 1.3 times the distance between vanes and the condenser.